emily's blog

Juan Venado Island (located near Las Penitas, Nicaragua) is a very special place. Here, you’re more likely to find sea turtles relaxing on the beaches than the sun-seeking tourists seen on almost every other strip of sand in the region. In fact, the beach – known locally as Playa Tamarindo – is considered one of the most important sea turtle nesting sites found anywhere on the Pacific Coast.

The island of Cuba is colorful and diverse, so it will come as no surprise to learn that its variety of bird species is much the same. Birdwatchers in Cuba will find endemic, Caribbean endemic and more common North American birds all over the island. But the most popular places for to find many birds of Cuba are the wooded areas of the Guanahacabibes peninsula, the Zapata peninsula and to the far southeast.

Cuba. You’ve seen it on television, read the books, and maybe even heard your parents/grandparents tell stories about traveling there as children. Now it is time for you to discover this enigmatic island that has been essentially forbidden to US tourists for the past 50 years. As the largest island in the Caribbean, Cuba is packed with some of the most distinct cultural and natural wonders to be found in the region, and here’s our guide for making the most of your time in Havana.

Growing up in Nicoya, Costa Rica as the son of a botanist and anthropologist, Jonathan Sequeira comes by his love of nature honestly. After heading off to Sri Lanka to get his PhD in Alternative Medicine, he headed back to his native country, where he balances life as a naturalist guide with breeding poison dart frogs and growing medicinal plants on his property in Sarapiqui. Here, we catch up with IE’s beloved expedition leader to learn more about his passion for plants, animals and people.

Rhinos all around the world are in serious trouble. Poaching is at an all-time high, rising from 333 rhinos killed in South Africa for their horns back in 2010 to more than 1,200 killed last year. And the bloodshed shows no signs of stopping.